I have talked before about the need and or usefulness of having a blog as part of your real estate marketing strategy:

• You need a blog to get ahead in real estate marketing
• Luxury property in Arkansas

But, setting up the technical aspect is easy. By far the easiest part in fact. A lack of technical skills should in no way prevent you from starting a blog. If you can use a mouse and keyboard, you can set up a blog. But that is where the work begins.

Once you have a blog, the next step is deciding what to write about and promoting that blog. if you are reading this, you have managed to find this blog and if you have read this far, I have done my job correctly.

Most real estate blogs I see either fill their pages with property for sale, or cut and paste articles taken from other sources. Whilst this is OK in small doses, filling your blog with nothing but this is a mistake.

So, here are a few blogs that I consider to be good real estate blogs. Some very different in tone and content, but that is one of the great things about blogging - it allows your own style and personality to be reflected on the page. Obviously your blog should reflect you and your ideas, but these are a good starting point.

The Edmonton Real Estate Blog

I like this one. Nice, clean layout: short, to-the-point posts with enough detail to warrant reading and regularly updated. I especially like their “about us” section which offers some stellar advice:

For legal information, consult a lawyer. For mortgage information consult a mortgage professional. For tax information consult an accountant.

The Edmonton real estate blog has two authors, both Coldwell Banker associates, Sara MacLennan and Sheldon Johnston.

The Real Estate Tomato

This one is a blog for real estate bloggers. Once again, a nice simple layout, regular updates and a great selection of advice for real estate bloggers.

Having a large market to discuss is obviously a bonus, but some bloggers manage just fine with a smaller segment. There are several good New York blogs that cover the Luxury market.

Peter Comitini’s Blog

Peter is an agent with the Corcoran group in New York and runs a tight ship.

Curbed NY

Curbed is a multi author blog covering New York real estate. Lots of gossip and arguments with a lot of references to “Die, Yuppie Scum.” A lot of reader input makes for some entertaining reading.

Then there are the newspapers muscling in on the blogosphere. Mostly boring, but a few of them do a good job, and this one “Raising the Roof,” at the International Herald Tribune is better than average.

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During its infancy the internet was like watching a black and white sunset. While it was surely something new, its functionality was dreadfully boring and bland. It was not dynamic. It was slow; like watching a snail wade through peanut butter. In short, it didn’t create an experience. Web 2.0, the new generation of internet, is changing all that.

So what is Web 2.0? Wikipedia

 

 

Aggregation: Search engines and various aggregator sites are emphasizing vertical search methodologies. Such search and aggregation reflect the need to make things more specialized, local, and topical. Websites aggregate data to make things easier and more convenient for users to find. Some examples include: Google Base, Trulia, and LuxuryProperty.com

 

 

Blogging: How could something with such a silly name become such a revolution? It’s simple. Blogs are freedom of speech. They are like online editorials. Some blogs are complex and others elegantly simple. Blogs can be about anything: humor, technology, personal reflection, information and of course real estate. ActiveRain is the tycoon of the real estate blogosphere (blogging community), while other notables include: The Sellsius Blog, The Real Estate Tomato, and the BloodHound Blog.

 

 

Mapping: Mapping is intuitive. It is easy for users to understand, and provides a wealth of immediate information. Mapping features are typically used in conjunction with other technologies to enhance a user’s experience on a website. For example, Zillow puts home evaluations on satellite maps and Trulia

 

 

Reviews: These sites allow online buyers the ability to rate and review a plethora of products, services, people, and places. Such sites provide users quick, useful information to assist with purchases. Cnet.com (technology) and Yelp.com (general) are two examples of growing review sites. Real estate review sites include: Homethinking (customer and listing performance reviews), Realty Baron (provides rankings based on professional experience), and IncredibleAgents

 

 

Social Networking: Social Networking is the foundation of Web 2.0. Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn lead the pack. Users create profiles then add friends and contacts to create their social network. Well, that is the cliff notes version. Social networking giants have even spawned specialized industry sites. ActiveRain is undoubtedly the MySpace

 

 

Widgets: A widget is a piece of code that is portable and can be installed within any separate HTML- based web page by an end use. It does not require any additional compilation. They are similar to plugins or extensions in desktop applications. The best way to understand widgets is to use them. Check out these sites to see how they work: Netvibes, Pageflakes and Flikr.

Wikis: If Blogs don’t get the prize for ‘most ridiculous Web 2.0 name” then the winner should be Wikis. A wiki is a web application designed to allow multiple authors the ability to add, remove, and edit content. Kind of like when you edit and rewrite a paragraph in one of your children’s homework assignments. The multiple author capability of wikis make them effective tools for mass collaborative authoring. The 600 pound gorilla of wikis is of course Wikipedia.

 

 

Video: Video defines user generated content. Video and Blogs are the beating heart of Web 2.0. With the right equipment, anyone can shoot a video. Please continue reading to see why video is the future of luxury real estate marketing.

 

 

 

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is changing the way people research and learn. With its spectrum of general to esoteric topics Wikipedia has made finding and searching for information incredibly easy. However, a degree of skepticism should always be exercised with Wikipedia information. Anyone can edit anything as long as someone agrees with it. Yes, before you know it the Boxer Rebellion will have been led by Muhammad Ali and the Boston Tea Party will be just another party south of Fenway.

 

of real estate.

 

(helps ‘incredible agents’ shine).

 

uses heat maps to show real estate pricing trends.

 

Blogs enable luxury real estate professionals the opportunity to showcase their unique knowledge, experience, and authenticity. It provides a platform for luxury real estate professionals to build trust with their readers. All things that define one’s success in today’s competitive market.

 

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calls it the perceived ongoing transition on the web from a collection of static websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Say what? Well, it means the web is beginning to resemble a platform that connects people more fully by creating an online community of users. It does this through various technologies which rely on users to help them develop and thrive. It’s not what can the internet do for you, but what can you and the internet do together. Here are some of the technologies and players that are adding the color to that sunset.